Mortar activator



March 13, 1956 s. H. NYCANDER ETAL 2,738,175

MORTAR ACTIVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 25, 1953 VEA/T025. mcANDER AKE H ELM ER SVEN HILDING INGVARQ ARTHUR SKOOG NILS WIMMERSTEDT.

M v 7% W ATTORNEYS Mardi 13, 1956 s. H. NYCANDER rAL 2,738,175

MORTAR ACTIVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 25, 1953 bmx.

Wm O www? wm Vl Vim im RL G ET T. WNWHUDLMA mT T I RES AKR .f H R E w A M NVSM 7 env s mNWB United States Patent O MORTAR ACTIVATOR Sweden, assignors to Vibro-Plus Corp., Woodside, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 25, 1953, Serial N0. 344,502

4 Claims. (Cl. 259-161) This invention relates to the treatment of mortar of the cement or lime type, and more particularly the invention refers to a so called mortar activator, i. e. an apparatus for mixing the ingredients of the mortar together and for simultaneously lashing the mortar to activate it or in other words make it more supple and smeary and better adhering to surfaces on which it is applied.

Practical investigations have shown that subjecting mortar to a thorough lashing highly increases its quality and its ability to remain sticking to a surface even several years after its application, and the main object of this invention is to provide a suitable apparatus for such lashing of mortar.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the type above referred to, which is easy to operate, requires a minimum of driving power and in spite thereof gives a surprisingly good result.

A further objecty of the invention is to provide a mortar activator wherein mixing of the mortar ingredients is readily accomplished so that the mixing as well as the activating process may take place in one and the same apparatus, thus reducing the costs and the labour involved in producing activated mortar.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combined mortar mixer and activator from which the mortar is readily discharged after processing and which is provided with an improved discharge lid in the bottom of the mixing drum to avoid leakage during the mixing and the activating process.

Another particular object of the invention is to pro* vide an apparatus of the type set forth wherein the mixing and lashing implements are readily accessible for replacement and repairs and wherein the interior of the mixing drum as Well as the mixing and lashing implements are easy to clean. t

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combined mortar mixer and activator having means to prevent the mortar treated from forming thick coatings on the inner walls of the mixing drum, particularly on the end walls thereof, adjacent which lashing implements may not advantageously be located.

With these and other objects in View the mortar activator according to the invention comprises broadly a horizontal mixing drum of cylindrical cross section, an inlet funnel opening non-radially into one end portion of said mix- I ing drum, a discharge opening in the bottom of the opposite end portion of said mixing drum,` a sliding lid for Vclosing said discharge opening, a driven shaft extending longitudinally through said mixing drum and coaxially therewith, bearings outside therespective end walls of said drum for carrying said driven shaft, sealing means in said end walls surrounding said driven shaft for preventing the mortar to be treated in the drum from entering said bearings, a plurality of mixing and lashing implements secured to said driven shaft so as to extend substantially radially therefrom in angularly spaced order, each of said implements comprising a hat metal stern having its inner end attached to said driven shaft in such a manner that the plane of the inner portion of the stem extends substantially axially relative to said shaft, said stem being turned around its longitudinal axis somewhat less than so as to form a propellerlike vane on said shaft and having its outer end bent to extend substantially parallelly to the inner wall of said mixing drum at but a little distance therefrom thereby providing a shovei cutting edgewise through the mortar to be treated, and means for rotating said shaft in a manner to impart said shovels a speed in their circular path of between 18 and 45 feet per second.

In the following'a more detailed description of the apparatus according to the invention will be given, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the mortar mixer and activator.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus partly in longitudinal section,

Fig. 2 is a top view of the apparatus, and

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof partly in section along the line 3-3 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing the mortar mixer and activator comprises a frame structure 1 carried by two xed rear wheels 2 and two pivoted front wheels 3, the latter being mounted in forked brackets 4 swingable in a known manner about displaced vertical axis 5, At the front end of the frame 1 there is attached a vertically swingable towing handle 6 having a relatively long stem to facilitate the transport of the apparatus.

Above the front portion of the frame 1 there are provided suitable brackets 7 supporting a driving motor 8, which in the vpresent case is an internal combustion engine having a suitable clutch coupling 9. The output shaft of the motor enters a reduction gear 10. It is to be understood that the invention is not in `any way restricted to the particular type of motor here suggested since any suitable electrical or combustion engine may be used and a clutch and a reduction gear is of course only needed if an internal combustion engine respectively a motor operating at a relatively high speed is utilized.

The driving motor 8 is located substantially right above the front wheels 3 and is preferably mounted on rubber pads or the like on the brackets 7 so as to prevent too much vibration from being transferred from the motor to the frame structure. The clutch 9 has an operating lever 9', by means of which the motor may be disengaged from the mortar mixer as will appear from the followlng.

Above the rear wheels 2 the frame structure 1 carries a horizontal mixing drum 11 of a cylindrical cross Section, said drum extending longitudinally to .said frame 1. The drum 11 has its rear end extending beyond the rear end of the frame 1 and its front end facing the motor 8 and the reduction gear 10. The drum 11 is mounted on suitable brackets 12 so that the center of the front end wall thereof is opposite the output shaft 13 of the reduction gear 10.

Intermediate the front end of the mixing drum 11 and the motor brackets 7 there is provided a support 14 carrying a ball or roller bearing assembly 15 for a driven shaft 16 which extends longitudinally through the mixing drum 11 an-d coaxially therewith. The rear end of this shaft 16 projects through the rear end wall of the mixing drum 11 and is at it`s rear end carried by a second bearing assembly 17 mounted on brackets 18 extending rearwardly from and being secured to the rear end wall of the drum 11. It is to be noted that-the bearings 15 and 17 for the driven shaft 16 are located'at a certain dis;

tance outside the respective end'walls of the mixing drum 1'1, whereby the contents of the mixing drum is prevented from entering the bearings and damaging the same. For the same reason collars 19 of rubber or like material are provided centrally in the end walls of the mixing drurnaround the shaft 16.

As previously mentioned the axis of the mixing drum 11 is horizontal or at least substantially horizontal and thus also the shaft 16 extends in a horizontal or substantially horizontal direction. The front end of the shaft 16 is, outside the front bearing 15, connected to the output shaft 13 of the reduction gear 10 by means of a flexible ring coupling 20, and the shaft 16 is thus rotated by means of the motor 8 via the clutch 9. The shaft 16 is in the drawings adapted to be rotated clockwise when viewed from the motor 8.

The mixing drum 11 has an inlet funnel 21 arranged on its right side, when viewed from the motor 8, and near the front end of the drum. This inlet funnel opens non-radially and substantially tangentially in the sense of rotation of the shaft 16 into the drum and more particularly into the substantially vertical side wall thereof. The mortar' ingredients are poured in through this funnel into the mixing drum. The upper part of the funnel 21 projects slightly above the upper border of the mixing drum 11 and has a rectangular opening parallel with the longitudinal axis of the drum.

In the top of the mixing drum 11 there are provide-d two rectangular openings 22 and 23 each having a tapered collar 24 projecting outside the drum wall and forming a seat for a rectangular, downwardly tapered cover 25 having handles 26 on its outer side. Two detachable yokes 27 having a threaded center part 27 extend transversely over each opening 22 and 23 respectively between hook members 23 rigidly secured to said drum 11 and each yoke has a screw 29 threaded through its center part and acting on the cover 25 to press the tapered cover 25 against the tapered seat. The openings 22 and 23 give readily access to the interior of the mixing drum for repairs and cleaning of the drum.

At the rear end of the mixing drum 11 and more particularly at the end portion thereof projecting beyond the frame 1 there is provided a discharge opening 30, which is located in the lowermost bottom part of the mixing drum. The discharge opening is provided with an outer mutf 31 having an annular flange 32 at its bottom end. The bottom side of the flange 32 forms a seat for a circular lid 33 which is carried by a leaf spring arm 34 having its outer end secured centrally to the lid in a somewhat exible manner. The end of the leaf spring arm 34 remote from the lid 33 is secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft 35 journalled in brackets 36 on the outside of the rear end wall of the mixing drum 11 in an axially xed position. The upper end of the shaft 35 has an operating lever or crank 37 rigidly secured thereto to facilitate turning the shaft and consequently swinging the leaf spring arm 34 and the circular lid 33 away from the discharge opening 30 or again to closing position.

The lid 33 is pressed against the fiange 32 by means of the leaf spring arm 34 which is adjustably secured to the lower end of the shaft 35 in such a manner that it always may remain tensioned just enough to provide a reliable seal between the sliding li-d 33 and its seat on the ange 32. For this reason the outer end of the leaf spring arm 34 is formed to a sleeve 38 surrounding the .lower end of the shaft 35, and a set screw 39 is threaded radially through this sleeve to permit setting of the leaf spring arm in any suitable angular position relatively to the shaft and `its crank. The lower end of the shaft 3S is threaded and provided with a nut 40 on the top of which the sleeve 38 rests so that the axial position of the leaf spring arm relatively to the shaft and thus `the tension of the armmay he a-djusted at any time by turning .the nut, suitable locking means as a locking l nut 41 being provided to keep the nut 40 in any desired setfposition.

Inside the mixing drum 11 the driven shaft 16 carries a plurality of radially extending mixing and activating implements 45 secured to the shaft 16 one in front of the other in angularly spaced order so that the implements are evenly spaced around the shaft when viewed from an end of the ldrum. Each implement 45 comprises a hub portion 46 rigidly clamped to the shaft 16, a stem portion 47 of fiat iron and an outer shovel portion 43 formed of the outer end of the stem. The stem portion 47 of each implement is turned about its own longitudinal axis to form a vane, which when the shaft 16 is rotated propels the ymortar in the mixing drum towards the discharge opening 36, and near the hub portion the plane of the flat iron stem extends substantially axially relatively to the shaft 16 while the plane of the stem near the outer end of each implement forms an oblique angle to the axis of the shaft.

The outer end portion of the fiat iron stern of each implement 45 is bent backwards from the plane of the stem and then again lforwards substantially in the form of an S or so that the outermost portion of the at stern extends substantially perpendicularly over the stem portion 47 proper and forms the shovel 4S which is slightly curved to follow the inner contour of the cylindrical wall of the mixing drum at a distance therefrom of about 1./4 inch. Due to the turning of the stern portion 47 the longitudinal center line of the shovel portion 4S forms an obtuse angle with the shaft 16 while the shovel may be said to form a helically cut strip of a cylinder, which is coaxial with the shaft 16 and the mixing drum 11.

Adjacent each end wall of the mixing drum 11 is shaft 16 carries a doctor implement 49 and 5t) respectively which are adapted to scrape off motar sticking to the inner side of said end walls and return it into contact with the mixing and activating implements 45. Each doctor implement comprises a mounting 51 by means of which it is rigidly secured to the shaft 16 so that it extends nearly radially therefrom, and a vane or doctor blade 52 having a straight edge 53 extending parallelly to the inner surface of the drum end wall and just slightly spaced therefrom to prevent the edge from touching the metallic drum wall. The blade of each doctor implement forms an oblique angle to the adjacent end wall of the mixing drum so that the mortar is not only scraped off from the wall but also propelled away therefrom at the rotation of the shaft 16.

It has been found that no surprising effect in comparison with an ordinary mortar mixer may be had when the shaft 16 is rotated at a relatively low speed but as soon as the speed of the shovels 48 of the implements 45 reach 18 feet per second a real activating process starts. rfhe higher the speed of the shovels is the more thorough activation is attained but a higher speed requires increased power supply and it has been ascertained that no economically advantageous result may be obtained uy exceeding a speed of 45 feet per second at the shovels.

When preparing mortar the mixing drum l1 is filled substantially to the level of the shaft 16 or slightly beneath this level. Too much mortar in the drum decreases the activating effect and does not increase the capacity of the apparatus. If the apparatus is used also for mixing the mortar ingredients, the liquid ingredients such as water or lime suspension should as a rule be poured into the drum rst while the solid ingredients are then added successively during the work of the apparatus so that the mortar becomes thicker and thicker. ln this way the load on the motor is kept relatively low and without sudden increases because the more the mortar is activated the more it becomes easy to cut through by the activating implements and activation starts as soon as solid ingredients'are added.

it is to be understood that the invention is not in any way restricted to the preferred embodiment thereof herewith shown and described as many alterations and modications as to shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A combined mortar mixing and activating apparatus comprising a horizontal mixing drum of cylindrical cross section, an inlet funnel opening non-radially into one end portion of said mixing drum, a discharge opening in the bottom of the opposite end portion of said mixing drum, a sliding lid for closing said discharge opening, a driven shaft extending longitudinally through said mixing drum and coaxially therewith, bearings outside the respective end walls of said drum for carrying said driven shaft, sealing means in said end walls surrounding said driven shaft for preventing the mortar to be treated in the drum from entering said bearings, a plurality of mixing and lashing implements secured to said driven shaft so as to extend substantially radially therefrom in angularly spaced order, each of said implements comprising a at metal stem having its inner end attached to said driven shaft in such a manner that the plane of the inner portion of the stem extends substantially axially relative to said shaft, the portion of said stem extending from the Shaft toward the inner wall of the drum being twisted around its longitudinal axis somewhat less than 90 so as to form a propeller-like vane on said shaft, and the extreme outer end being bent to extend substantially parallelly to the inner wall of said mixing drum at but a little distance therefrom thereby providing a shovel cutting edgewise through the mortar to be treated, and means for rotating said shaft in a manner to impart said shovels a speed in their circular path of between 18 and 45 feet per second.

2. A combined mortar mixing and activating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sliding lid for closing said discharge opening comprises a metal plate having its center attached to the outer end of a leaf spring arm which is swingably mounted on said mixing drum to press said lid against a seat formed around said discharge opening of said drum.

3. A combined mortar mixing and activating apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sealing means comprises circular exible collars provided centrally in the end walls of said drum around said driven shaft.

4. A combined mortar mixing and activating apparatus comprising a horizontal mixing drum of cylindrical cross section, a driven shaft extending longitudinally and coaxially through the mixing drum, and a plurality of mixing and lashing elements of at metal stock spaced along the shaft, the inner ends of said mixing and lashing elements being connected to the shaft, each of the elements extending outwardly from the shaft toward the inner wall of the drum, the portion of the element extending from the shaft toward the inner wall of the drum being twisted about its longitudinal axis to form a propeller-like vane on said shaft, the extreme outer end of the element being bent to extend substantially parallel and closely spaced to the inner wall of the drum, said outer end of the element moving edgewise through the mortar, the propeller-like vane portion of the elements acting on the mass to move the mass from one end of the drum to the other, the outer ends of the elements cutting edgewise through the mass in the vicinity of the inner wall of the drum and having a whipping action on the mass.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,708,947 Jaeger Apr. 16, 1929 1,760,906 Johnston June 3, 1930 1,778,837 Schmitt Oct. 21, 1930 2,487,533 Eastman Nov. 8, 1949 2,591,601 Peters et al Apr. 1, 1952 2,596,672 Gard et al May 13, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 394,017 Germany Apr. 19, 1924 

